Half of the planet confined to homes as toll hits 60K
The global death toll in the coronavirus crisis soared past 60,000 on Saturday, as US calls for the public to cover their faces reignited debate about whether masks can be effective in stemming the pandemic.
The latest milestone came as Britain recorded a new daily high in fatalities, including a five-yearold child believed to be the nation’s youngest Covid-19 victim.
But hard-hit Spain recorded fewer deaths for a second straight day, providing a glimmer of hope in hard-hit Europe.
More than 1.1 million people have now fallen ill and over 60,000 people have died, according to an AFP tally.
Billions of people are living under some form on lockdown, with roughly half the planet confined to their homes as schools and businesses have closed in a bid to slow down the spread of the virus.
Europe continued to bear the brunt of the pandemic, but official figures suggested the unprecedented measures to restrict people’s movement were having an effect.Although the picture was grim in Britain where the overall death toll climbed to more than 4,300 out of nearly 42,000 cases, other countries saw reason for cautious optimism.
Spain, which is under a near total lock down, saw a second successive daily fall in corona virus related deaths with 809 fatalities.
The total number of deaths in the country now stands at 11,744, second only to Italy.
Spaniard Javier Lara survived after being put on oxygen in an overcrowded intensive care unit — a shock to a 29-year-old who was athletic and does not smoke.
“I was panicking that my daughter would get infected. When I started showing symptoms, I said I wouldn’t hold her or go near her,” he said, describing facing death with an eight-week-old as the “worst moment” in his life.
The number of new Spanish cases also slowed.
And Italy reported on Friday that the daily rise of officially registered infections dropped to a new low of just four per cent, while the number of people who had fully recovered was rising.
“The numbers are improving,” said Giuli Gallera, chief medical officer of Italy’s worst-hit Lombardy region.“Our hospitals are starting to breathe.”
But the situation is rapidly deteriorating in the United States, where worst affected New York state reported a record 630 deaths in a single day.
President Donald Trump’s administration on Friday suggested simple masks or scarves might help stem the rocketing infection rate.
Several Western countries including Germany and France have in recent days changed tack and are now encouraging even the use of homemade masks despite earlier telling citizens only carers needed to cover their faces.
The U-turn has angered and confused some citizens, and spurred a flurry of online tutorials for DIY masks.
But Trump himself said he wouldn’t be covering up.“It’s going to be really a voluntary thing,” Trump said. “You don’t have to do it and I’m choosing not to do it, but some people may want to do it and that’s okay.” —
I am trying to protect me and my family. If everybody protects themselves, it’s better for all of us Eddie Marrero, 58-year-old handyman